Chapter 59: The Nations
How did it go?
After the sacrifice ceremony was over, Bai Luo told the crowd to disperse, while he sought out his old man and his elder sister.
The method is correct, but the tribute is not, Bai Luo said, We used the wrong thing for the sacrifice.
So, grain was the wrong choice?
Issafeiya seriously said, Then why dont we go capture some precious and rare beasts, then bring them back.
We have to wait for a month before conducting another sacrifice ceremony.
Bai Luo didnt expect that there would be a penalty for failure, but upon thinking about it, it doesnt seem that bad. They could just continue doing their things during this period.
Its just right!
The old man said, Now that we have time, it is time to bring in the poption.
Poption, this is what the Arden needs the most right now. With people, more miracle children will appear.
With miracle children, they can form miracle troops, then an army. This is the way to protect Arden and the foundation that will allow this budding nation to stand in thend of miracles.
Follow me.
The old man led the two to his house, then pulled out a map from a pile of documents,
You seldom set foot on the sea before, hence you dont know much about the surrounding area. This is a map that I obtained during an adventure in my early years.
Look, our Arden Ind is located roughly at this location.
Emm
Bai Luo looked at the location the old man was pointing at. It was empty.
Our ind isnt marked on the chart?
Dont mind it, having such a map is already quite good, it doesnt matter if its slightly outdated, the old man nodded his head: But our ind is indeed in this ce.
I guess.
Bai Luo sighed and said, Old man, continue.
We are in the southeast of the Miracle Continent.
Saros marked the location of the Iron Eagle Kingdom and Arden Ind, Based on the location of our ind, theres an archipgo nation called the Azure duchy to the southwest.
To reach the closest ind that is within the jurisdiction of the Azure Duchy, and drive the fastest warship, a round trip will take at least half a month.
From the Iron Eagle to the Azure, to our Arden Ind and the area around it, thisrge area is called the Eastern Sea, said the old man, The power of the pirate king Morgan is entrenched here.
What do you think, Little Luo?
Facing the old mans question, Bai Luo calmly replied,
Surrounded on three sides, the geographical location of Arden Ind allows it to not only easily connect to Hillul city, but also to continue westward to the Kingdom of Mountains, and even the Holy Empire further west.
Moving from the east to the north, we will be able to pass through the territorial sea of the Bright Duchy, reach the Great Northern Empire, and trade with the cities there.
I dont need to mention the south. Although I havent been to the Azure Duchy, I have heard of its great name.
Azure is only a Duchy though.
ording to uncle Saros, a Duchy is a sovereign state with at least 3 different miracles, but no more than 7.
This nation calls itself a permanent neutral country in thends of miracles, and this has been recognized by many nations.
The Azure Duchy is huge. Its best not to mess with this behemoth for the time being.
As far as Saross knowledge is concerned, in the next ten years, they shouldnt confront the Duchy of Azure. It would be too irrational.
What about Morgan, what do you think, little Luo?
This
Bai Luo pondered, he felt that he would definitely go to war with Morgan, they have already formed a grudge after all.
Feiya?
Father, what you want to say is that we should rece Morgan, right?
Issafeiyas words caused Bai Luo to instantly realize. His eyes widened as he said, So thats how it is! Since Morgan can upy the Eastern Sea, then if we defeat him, changing pirate kings shouldnt greatly affect the bnce of the sea.
This is a challenge, but also an opportunity.
Very Good.
Seeing theplementarity between Bai Luo and Issafeiya, the old man was relieved. With these two, the future of Arden is bright, However, this is just a theoretical n, it cant bepleted with just one or two wars. Moreover, anything can go wrong.
This sea is too big. Even if we want to take over it, we must seize the right opportunity.
Saros has been discussing strategies and policies with the other two old men in the past few days. The three of them are like Ardens core ministers.
Bai Luocks political and military experience, so he knew very well who to ask for opinions and how to make decisions in regards to such arge strategicyout.
Are we going to war soon?
Theres definitely going to be a war, the old man replied to Bai Luo, But we must first determine one thing. Why do we have to fight this war? Whats its purpose?
You mean Sigrian?
Indeed, but this also includes Morgan, the pirate king.
The old man seriously said, For the moment, we dont know the other sides strength. Its very unwise to start a war hastily.
If it was some ordinary pirates, then it wouldnt matter.
However, in the face of miracle troops and even a miracle army, the situation ispletely unknown. They might be able to win, but the casualties would be very heavy.
What are the benefits, old man?
Bai Luo is a rational person. Wars are based on interests and benefits. If there is nothing to gain, Bai Luo will not fight.
Time, and deterrence.
The old man calmly said, Our war with Sigrian is to gain more time, and at the same time let them know that Arden is not easy to mess with.
As for taking the initiative to kill Morgan
Bai Luo might possess three miracles, but he has gotten them for a very short period.
Even if Bai Luos efficiency is ten times that of Morgans, but Morgan has had his miracle for over 200 years. How can his umtion over such a period be shaken by the current Bai Luo?
Of course, we cant fight Morgan for the time being, but Sigrians troops are just one-sixth of Morgans army. Not to mention that they arent the main troops.
As long as we choose the right battlefield, defeating Sigrian wouldnt be too difficult.
These days, the three elders have been discussing the best location for the battlefield, and now theres quite a bit of progress. Theyre just waiting for Sigrian to appear.
Morgans matter isnt the most important issue for now.
Our next priority is to head to the Azure Duchy.
Dont attract the attention of the miracle masters there yet, the old man said, Our target is those ve traders.
Yes, ve traders.
Arden needs poption, and the best target, for now, is those ves that had lost their homes because of war.
Because they lost their homes, they lost their freedom and identity.
After arriving in Arden, as long as Bai Luo treats them kindly, Arden will soon be their only home.
Bai Luo doesnt want to reign in pirates due to their bad character and habitualwlessness. This will cause them a lot of problems.
Since they can just buy them, in the case of being able to choose at will, it would be better to buy civilians or young people.
Maybe some of them will definitely have bad intentions, but most of them should be willing to integrate into Arden and be citizens of this new country.
Ungrateful people always exist.
Saros and Bai Luo dont hope that everyone would be assimted, but even if only 70% truly be Ardens citizens, Bai Luo would be satisfied.
Find these ve traders and establish trade with them.
Even if the price of the ves they sell us is 20% to 30% higher or even double, we can still ept it. Saros calmly said.
Having the basic sacred pouch is like having an endless gold mine.
Their output of spices cant bepared to the consumption rate of this world.
After all, it takes time to transport ves. As long as Bai Luo and the others maintain a good export volume of trade, not only will the price of ck pepper not drop much, it will generate more profits due to the demand of more people.
More importantly, its a monopoly!
If the price drops, then sell less, and if the price soars, then sell more. In the end, they would have the final say on the price!
Cultivating ck pepper is too difficult. It has great demands on the environment. Moreover, they tend to spoil rather quickly. said the old man,
Therefore, in the next period, little Luo, pour out more ck peppers. We will dry them and turn them into ck pepper powder.
With this, they can also avoid the issue of recalcting the weight of the ck pepper fruits due to their loss of moisture over time.
Okay.
The process of drying ck pepper is very simple. In fact, it can bepleted in a matter of minutes with Liliths magic.
So the next day, everyone loaded boxes of ck peppers onto the warship.
This is one of the pirates ships, but it was reformed by Liliths fairy magic. In terms of appearance alone, the difference is so big that its impossible to think that they are in fact the same ship.
Everyone, are you all on board?
The number of people participating in this operation is exactly six.
The men were Bai Luo, little John, and Anderson, and the women were, respectively, the cook Emmett, Bai Luos secretary Gonia, and Noels sister Fiora.
Gonia is very smart and has a very high IQ. With her around, Bai Luo wont be scammed
If there is a problem with the price offered by the other party, as long as Gonia utters a word, Bai Luo will definitely let them know how serious are the consequences of scamming the Ardennes.
In addition to these six, Saros, Issafeiya, Inya, and the others stayed on Arden Ind. Lilith also stayed behind to teach the children magic.
Of course, Bai Luo will take Shirley with him.
Moreover, due to the connection between the miracle creature and its master, Bai Luo can instantly summon Lilith to his side, no matter howrge the distance between them.
The only problem is that once summoned, Lilith has to stay outside with Bai Luo. She would have to take the ship back with him.
Lilith needs to stay on Arden ind to defend it. Bai Luo will not summon her unless absolutely necessary.
Is that all we have?
Little John expressed his puzzlement, and Anderson also looked at Bai Luo. He was a newbie. This is the first time he ever stepped on a ship.
The tree elf young man tied with a white cloth tied on his head, dressed as a typical seafarerthis was to cover his ears.
Bai Luo brought Anderson because thetter was hoping to broaden his horizon and increase his knowledge so that he can assist Bai Luo better in the future.
Although theres some risk, Bai Luo was very willing to take such a small risk to train his subordinates. Therefore, he readily epted his request.
About that.
Bai Luo exined, We arent going to bring the ves back, but order them from the ve traders.
ves are often not purchased directly from ve traders. They will be transported to ve markets everywhere, handed over to ve owners, and then resold.
Bai Luo can naturally go to the ve market.
But that ce is too chaotic. Moreover, they would have to buy onerge batch after the other from there. Sooner orter, trouble will ur.
What we are after is a long-term business, not a single or procurement.
Bai Luo ns to find a big ve dealer, and then directly make a deal with their boss.
Pay the deposit first, and then establish the initial trade trust.
Choosing an ind by the sea to conduct the trade is better than doing the trade in the Blue Sea City of the Azure Duchy. This will benefit both of us.
The benefit of this is that the ve trader will enjoy reduced taxes, and it will be much safer for Bai Luo, Now, we just have to find someone who has the guts and desire to do business with us.
Anyway, money is not an issue. Arden might becking a lot of things, but money is certainly not one of them.
Bai Luo: <i>Yes, I have a mine at home!</i>
Captain.
Gonias manner of address has changed. This is Bai Luos request.
Although money is not an issue, we cant just allow people to scam us.
Hmm, indeed.
Bai Luo isnt good at doing business.
Then Ill leave it to you. Anyway, when the timees, Gonia, you will do the talk and I will support you from behind.
Um.
Everyone has a different specialization. Gonia has been educated by the old man about business and literacy for many years. Although she still cant match that old monster, shes at the top of her field.
Us too!
The three cute kittens were chasing each other and fighting on the deck. Only Bai Luo could understand their words. To others, they could just hear the meow! meow!.
We are also super ferocious!
Each one of the three kittens was standing on its hind legs, flexing and posing, showing its mightiness. Bai Luo could swear that he heard the pir men theme.
These three have the potential to be the three generals of the Ardens Marine Headquarters.
Prosperity, civilization, harmony, freedom, justice, and dedication
The mice held up the pests they captured from various corners of the ship while chanting the slogan that Bai Luo once said, indicating that they have done a good job.
Umu.
Bai Luo nodded at them, and then announced to the crowd, Pull up the anchor, lets go! To Coral City!